Puzzle Pieces
by irishcookie
Summary: An exploration of Damon's thoughts and actions as he realizes how much Bonnie Bennett has come to mean to him - and just how much she could come to mean to Enzo. A series of drabbles surrounding Damon/Bonnie/Enzo. *Title added - credit to a lovely nonnie who visited my tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: It was suggested by a few people that I pull my Damon/Bonnie/Enzo drabbles series out of **_**A Snapshot in Time**_** and give its own little home. Also, I sat here for the longest time trying to think of a title for this series and I am completely lost. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear it! **

**Untitled**

_Prompt: Enzo flirts with Bonnie and Damon gets jealous _

He doesn't pick up on it at first.

He is too busy being Damon Salvatore and the million little nuances that come with it. After all, he is alive. Truly _alive _when he damn well shouldn't be. That fact alone should allow him an extra bit of swagger (though he catches more than one person rolling their eyes at him).

It isn't until Bonnie flounces in with Enzo on her heels that he _gets _it.

She has her eyes narrowed (he knows that look, he helped her perfect it) and she scoffs as she tries to close the door in Enzo's face. "You're _disgusting_."

_Hey now, that's my insult_, Damon thinks as Enzo's hand comes out easily to catch the door before it whacks him in the nose. His friend slides in the boarding house, an lazy grin on his face.

Damon is not a fan of it.

"Come now, beautiful, you don't mean that," Enzo purrs and Damon resists the urge to make a face. Guys like Enzo (like _him_) only pull that tone out when they are trying to accomplish something (usually involving clothes hitting the floor).

Bonnie glances at him and for a moment Damon smiles (not grins, there is a difference). Then she swoops past him, hoping to put some ground between she and her pursuer.

(actually now that Damon thinks on it —- this isn't the first time he's witnessed an encounter like this, but it is the first time that he's paid attention)

Bonnie stops in the middle of the living room. She has got her grimoire clutched so tightly to her chest that Damon thinks she'll crush the damn thing if she's not careful. Her eyes, however, are not on him. They're leveled over his shoulder to where Enzo leans against the wall (still grinning). "Does that line ever work?"

Enzo laughs, "No, not really —- and I wouldn't expect it to. I just like the way your eyes light up when you're angry."

"Ah," Bonnie states and nods her head. She is finally looking at Damon again and he thinks all is right in the world. "Control your friend."

"He can try," Enzo states leisurely.

For the first since he has been back, Damon has the urge to punch his _good _friend. He doesn't however. Instead he steps closer to Bonnie (she doesn't tense anymore when he does so —- she hasn't in a long time). A hand reaches out to land on her shoulder, fingers curving over her warm skin. "He's an ass."

"Beg pardon!" Enzo kicks off the wall and steps into the living room.

"Oh I know," Bonnie agrees and Damon beams in triumph. _Point for Team Damon_. His hand lingers for a moment or two longer and then he lets it fall away.

Bonnie takes a seat and before Damon can even react, Enzo's right next to her, arms outspread across the back. Damon thinks the bastard knows just what he is doing just by the look on his face. Enzo's _taunting_ him. Bonnie spares him a glance before opening her grimoire. "I think I've figured out a way to undo the damage the Traveler's caused to Mystic Falls."

"Good, because I am tired of being a frat house to every supernatural being around," Damon says and it is more an automatic response than anything. Bonnie and Enzo both give him an eyebrow.

"That's right, Damon, we'll all be out of your hair," Bonnie states and there is a slightly wistful element to the way she speaks (or so Damon thinks there is). He tightens his jaw (because truly, he has gotten so used to having Bonnie close that the thought of she not being so is unnerving).

"I, for one, am looking forward to it," Enzo drawls. His head turns toward Bonnie. "Perhaps, you can give me a tour of the fair town —- I missed most of it the first time around."

Bonnie doesn't answer.

Damon can't stop himself. "Why are you still here anyway, Enzo? I mean —- you spent all of 1.5 seconds dead. You could have run off to the depraved corners of Pairs, Rome, Turkey…take your pick."

There is a pause as the two men stare each other down. Then Enzo gives an easy shrug (and that grin is back). "I don't know," he begins and his eyes travel from Damon's to run across the expanse of leg Bonnie currently has on display in those shorts. "I rather like it here. Quiet. Nice _view_."

_That's it_, Damon is punching Enzo later.

He'll blame it on the fact that he hasn't had a good fight since he's been back.

That's believable.

_Right?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: This is a repost of a drabble already published in **_**A Snapshot in Time**_**. Refitted because it is now part of an ongoing series.**

**Untitled**

_Prompt: Bonnie is forced to go on a road trip with Damon and Enzo _

Damon exits the boarding house to find Bonnie Bennett shimming across the console on her hands and knees so she could practically fall out the driver's side. It is not at all elegant and he has to stand there for a moment to understand what he has just witnessed.

To her credit, she is more graceful in picking herself up. It is one fluid movement that entrances him before he realizes she is coming toward him with purpose. He roots his feet to the ground (because he is well attuned to the signs of Hurricane Bonnie). Her eyes are blazing and he thinks she looks beautiful (even with the tiny grease stain on her leg that she must have picked up during her great escape).

"Why is _he _in the car?" she hisses.

He —- _Enzo_. Currently sprawled out in the backseat like he owns it.

"Uh." And it's not like him to be this tongue tied —- but then again, he's facing one of the strongest women he has ever met. One slip and —- "He needs to get out of the house. Been cooped up too long…after being _cooped up too long._" Let's try that; let's try the sympathy card for Dear Ole' Enzo (though, really, Damon would prefer he stay home as well…for slightly more complicated reasons).

Bonnie makes a face and he knows that his tactic has found some merit with her. "_Fine, _but he if gets car sick, you're cleaning it up." He doesn't need the translation: Enzo's behavior is on him.

"I can hear every word you two are uttering," Enzo drawls from within the depths of the backseat. Damon rocks to the side so he can get a good look at his friend, thinking he will find him with a sour look on his face. Instead it is obvious that Enzo is pleased he has gotten the witch's go ahead to tag along.

_Wonderful._

Bonnie uses the passenger side door to re-enter the car as Damon throws his bag into the trunk. He can already hear Enzo starting up with Bonnie, using that teasing flirtatious tone that he has perfected.

_How many miles to Louisiana again?_

**X**

They wind up in a bar in some backwater town a few hours outside of New Orleans (they are avoiding the city for the most obvious reason that includes the word _Mikaelson_). It's muggy as hell and it does nothing to improve Damon's mood.

Nearly 14 hours. In a car. With _them_.

He says _them_ because somewhere along the way Enzo has managed to score a few points with Bonnie. Damon must have missed it (concentrating on not driving the car off the road straight into a tree perhaps) but he knows one thing —- he _hates _it.

Bonnie had smiled. Laughed. Even let Enzo push his way up between the seats to switch the radio station (he might have stayed had Damon not swatted him). When they had stopped so they could stretch their legs, Damon found the pair of them leaned against the car sharing some little secret at his expense (probably not —- but in his mind, that is what it has become).

It isn't right.

She is supposed to hate him. She is supposed to find him _disgusting _(isn't that what she has said ad nauseam over the past few months?). That ridiculous act that he puts on isn't supposed to work on Bonnie Bennett.

_Period._

Damon eyes her over his bottle of beer. She is rocking slightly in her seat to whatever the hell the jukebox is cranking out. Her hands comes up to fan a little. "It's hot," she says, stating the obvious rather loudly. Before he or Enzo can acknowledge, she is leaning forward to peel off her jacket to reveal a simple black tank top underneath. There is a slight sheen to her skin (no doubt from the heat) and he gets caught up in it.

Apparently he is not the only one.

When he locks eyes with Enzo, his friend tips the neck of his bottle toward him.

And smiles.

**X**

Bonnie's witchy contact (the whole reason for this trip in fact) doesn't want Damon and Enzo in on the conversation (actually she called them both 'pieces of filth that should be drug out and left in the swamp', which is rather _hurtful _considering she doesn't know them). Bonnie assures them she'll be all right and then she disappears out the bar door.

"You are just going to let her waltz off like that?" Enzo asks.

Damon is quick to nod. "She can handle herself —- trust me."

"I don't doubt it. Still —-"

There is a level of caring in Enzo's voice that causes something in Damon to finally snap. "Enzo, what the _hell_ are you doing?"

"Pardon?"

"You know exactly what I am talking about. _Bonnie_ —- what are you doing with Bonnie?" Damon asks and he leans across the table a little as if he expects Enzo to crack and spill everything.

Enzo stares him down for a second and then shrugs. "What am I doing talking to a beautiful creature? The very same creature that is the reason I am back on the right side of the land of the living? Well, mate, I have _no earthly idea_."

Damon wants to call him on it. But really —- does he have the room to? Probably not. He sits back in his chair and ponders for a moment. "You know we're like…8 miles outside of the Honey Island Swamp. Heard there is a monster in there. Wanna scare some curiosity seekers?"

**X**

Bonnie is back just after midnight and she looks enthused. She plops down in her seat, beaming. "I can do it. I can fix Mystic Falls. I have everything I need now…"

Damon raises a glass (beer became a thing of the past after Enzo nixed his 'scare the tourist' idea). "Knew you had it in you, witchy." Then he smiles and despite his _slightly_ inebriated state he thinks the two share a genuine moment, something like they had before when they were _stuck_.

'Course Enzo butts in.

"This is most definitely a reason to celebrate!" He has his hand up and the pretty little waitress that he has been ignoring all night is quick to respond. Enzo's eyes are still on Bonnie as he orders another round.

**X**

They don't leave Louisiana until the next morning.

Damon has sobered up, Enzo is getting there and Bonnie looks like she will have to crawl to the car. "Backseat…_mine_," she declares before she leans heavily against the wall of the bar. She squints her eyes a little at the rising sun.

"Little witchy can't handle her liquor," Damon teases but then he picks up the pace to bring the car around to her. When he starts the engine he glances in the mirror to notice Bonnie wobbling. Enzo is there, gracefully scooping her up to carry her.

Damon wonders if he can successfully run over one person while avoiding the other.

**X**

Bonnie comes to somewhere in Tennessee. She sits up straight and Damon notes that each strand of her hair has taken on a mind of its own.

"Afternoon," Damon states as she takes a moment to observe in her surroundings as if she is just realizing where she is.

Bonnie makes a face. "Ugh, my tongue tastes like carpet."

Enzo twists in his seat, grins. "Would you like a second opinion on that?"

There is a pause.

"You're disgusting," Bonnie states before she flops back down on the seat.

Damon smiles as he presses down on the gas.

Because all seems right in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Another repost for the series.**

**Untitled**

_Prompt: Damon cockblocks Enzo's attempt to kiss Bonnie_

They decide to have a party.

(actually no one decides; it just sort of happens and now Damon is running from person to person to ensure that none of them spill anything on the goddamn rug)

_Magic is back in Mystic Falls. _

Damon doesn't think they are celebrating that exactly (though it will be nice to walk the streets again without fear of becoming a human torch); he thinks this particular shindig is in honor of things going right for a change. After everything — maybe they are getting a taste of the good side of karma.

Though some are probably getting _too much_ of a taste.

Damon makes a face. "Hey Lockwood, you might want to slow down on the alcohol intake. You're a shiny new human being, remember?"

Tyler grins.

"You puke on my floor, I rub your nose in it —- got it?" Damon rephrases and it seems to do the trick.

He hates this —- the people moving in and out of rooms like they own them, the rapid rate in which his alcohol is disappearing…

…okay, he _likes _this.

Secretly.

For the past few weeks, the Boarding House has kind of been base camp for all of the supernaturally inclined folk that he knows. Though he has spent a great deal of time loudly complaining about the lack of privacy (once even threatening to strut naked to a less than impressed Alaric), he enjoys having others around. Maybe it is because he shouldn't be here. Maybe death kicked in the ass a little and told him to smarten up.

Either way, this party feels like a send-off before everyone goes their separate ways and he's left staring at the walls.

No doubt, this is why he is grumpy.

Caroline has already called him a party pooper in the way only Caroline can. He is okay with that, _truly_. So while everyone drinks his booze and attempts to dance (Donovan has no rhythm), Damon _watches_.

For instance, he notes the distance between Alaric and Meredith Fell (always nice to see the _good_ doctor again). Close, but not too close. No doubt finding a way to work through that 'remember that time you shot me and I stabbed you' awkwardness. Really they just needed to hit the sheets (not _his_ sheets though) and that would nip the problem in the bud.

Stefan is smiling, which on the surface is kind of creepy looking. Probably because Damon is not used to it. For a moment he just sort of stares but then he realizes Stefan's smile is a bit contagious. The corners of his mouth have turned upward. It's refreshing to see his baby brother content (nobody better fuck it up or Damon will be paying them a little visit).

He scans the rest of the room, taking in the various levels of happiness (perhaps in an attempt to live vicariously through them). There is laughter, some are arm in arm, some are —- bloody hell, did Matt just plant one on Liv the backup witch?

Something is off though —- or more importantly _someone_ is missing.

Bonnie Bennett, the star of the show.

He does a second take around the room and sure enough, she's not there. It takes him a second to realize that she is not the _only_ one missing.

Damon jerks and Stefan gives him a quizzical look. He has already moved past his brother, pushing his way through the space between Ric and Meredith —- he is a man on a mission.

He hears them before he sees them. Barely whispering —- then she laughs. He hates that the sound cuts into him the way it does; hates that he feels the need to move forward to find them no doubt tucked in a corner somewhere.

"C'mon, princess, you don't really mean that now do you?"

Whatever Bonnie has said, Damon hopes that she means it (though it is becoming increasing possible that she doesn't). He can't even pretend that he has tried to turn a blind eye to the push and pull between she and Enzo. No, instead he has stood in the background and quietly (okay, not always quietly) simmered.

She laughs again and Damon stops short.

He can see them now —- entangled together, his head dipped, her head tipped back. Something in him twists painfully and he wishes that he could just ignore it.

He can't.

Life's too short —- even for the immortals.

Enzo is going in for the kill and Damon thinks Bonnie will let him. There is nothing about the way she looks at him that speaks otherwise. Damon has clenched his fingers into a fist. However unfairly —- he realizes he has no right to be this _angry_ by the scene before him. He takes a moment, just a fraction of a second, to push back at that anger before he smiles.

And does just what he has done before (maybe this will be another one of their _things_) —- he interrupts.

"Little Miss Witchy," he drawls and then puts on the surprise face as they scatter —- a bit of _oops, did I do that_ to really sell the fact that he hadn't been playing spy in the corner. "Awk_ward_," he adds for good measure and ignores the way Enzo is glowering at him. "You know, _Bon_, this party is in your honor. You saved the day. Again. People are starting to notice that you're playing hooky in the hallway with the school stoner."

No. they're not.

They are too busy getting drunk or trying to get laid to even notice that she is gone (a foul on their part really). But he'll cheerfully lie to her if it saves him the picture of what was about to happen.

Bonnie blinks, glances toward Enzo and then seemingly snaps out of whatever thrall she has been put in. "Right," she agrees and Damon is happy as a pig in mud at the way she moves away from his friend (they are still friends right?) and toward him. She stops when they are side by side to smile up at him. "Thanks for having this by the way —- it's nice to just…have fun again."

He beams like he is the one who thought all of this up instead of the one passive aggressively placing coasters under beer bottles. "Hey, I figured it was well deserved." She's off, wandering back the way she came and leaving him alone with Enzo.

The two stare at one another. In that moment, the most obvious thing is thrown down on the table and both know the truth when it comes to Bonnie Bennett. Then Enzo breaks into one of his wide smiles (the one that promises nothing good) and follows Bonnie's lead. As he passes Damon, their shoulders bump together.

Yeah, they're still friends.

But that doesn't mean either one of them is going to back down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: So without further ado, here is new installment! I hope you enjoy. These are honestly so much fun to write. I intend to continue them until I feel like it reaches a logical conclusion. However, I will warn you that I am going back to work next week after a two month vacation so my updating might be spotty as I get back into the swing of things and there is **_**A Thousand Souls Crossed Over**_** to consider too! Thanks again for all your support - it really does mean the world to me! Remember I am taking suggestions for names! **

**Untitled**

_Prompt: Damon kisses Bonnie; her flustered reaction _

The battle lines have been drawn.

At least that is how Damon sees it.

The night of the one last hurrah at the Boarding House (he is still finding those dreadful red solo cups stuffed in the most interesting of places), he and Enzo had thrown down. Silently of course —- but it is still understood.

They both want Bonnie.

Damon is going to win.

It is not even about the fact that he _always _wins. His competitive nature is very demanding and at the slightest hint that he will lose it goes into hyperdrive. He is _built_ to win.

But this has nothing to do with the current situation.

This is about Bonnie. _His _Bonnie.

He realizes their history is twisted. It has rotted roots formed in the hay day of his obsession with Katherine. Most would look at that and proclaim he has lost before he even started. But the way he sees it, from those damaged beginnings something has still grown. Persevered despite everything that has been thrown at it. That says something, really, about the depth of the connection between he and Bonnie.

He never really talks about it —- his death and how he and Bonnie fought so hard (_together_) to get back to where they rightfully belonged. He knows that Stefan wonders. He catches his brother looking at him with a curious eye every now and then. But Stefan is too damn polite to actually ask. He will wait until Damon opens up. Which will happen at about a quarter to never.

He isn't the sharing type.

Besides, there is a part of him that wants to keep it as it is —- something shared between only he and Bonnie. Every now and then, he will meet her eyes and there is something there. Something the two of them can only understand.

Why the _hell_ would he want to screw that up?

Despite all the complaining he does about how boring Mystic Falls is, Damon likes walking its streets again. There is a sense of coming home. _Finally_. It doesn't take him long to fall back into old habits. Lurking in the crowd at those ridiculous founder's events. Sneaking a blood bag or two from the hospital supply as if he is at a vending machine. Downing a whole bottle of bourbon while perched on _his _seat at the Grill (he had to chase away someone not in the know the first night back).

However, he does find himself stumbling down an unfamiliar street now.

He stops, taking in the quaint little home. Funny, how in all the years he has known her he hasn't bothered to pay her visit. Probably because ringing her doorbell would be akin to asking for an ice cream headache on steroids.

This is a first for him —- a visit to the Bennett house.

For now, Bonnie has decided to avoid Whitmore. It is not that she doesn't want to do the college thing. It's just…well, she's been dead two times over in a short span of time. Damon figures she wants to surround herself by the familiar and just gain her footing again. He doesn't blame her. He is, after all, doing the same damn thing with every glass of cheap bourbon downed.

The outside light comes on bathing the front lawn in a brash light. He squints and hears the click of the door. "Damon?" _Hell_, even her voice has an effect on him now. He's so far lost isn't he? He moves toward its sound even though he can't quite see her yet. Finally he blinks away the light and there she is, leaning in the door frame dressed in a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. Her feet are bare and he is amused by the fact that her toenails are painted a purple color. "Skulking around in front of my house — not creepy at all."

Only he knows she is teasing.

Damon smiles as he comes to a stop on her bottom step. Bonnie takes a deep breath and then reaches for something just instead the door —- a sweater which she immediately wraps herself in. She's out the door and standing on the top step looking down at him before he even gets a word out. "You okay?"

He smiles a little. Always worried. Even about _him_. It does him good to realize that he is one of her people —- those she will fight to the bitter end for. "I'm fine. Might have a bit of a buzz on but hey, _this too shall pass_," he tells her and that smile turns into the cocky grin she is used to.

He sinks down on the middle step at the same moment she moves to sit beside him. For a time the two of them stare straight out at the quiet street. Nothing amiss in Mystic Falls. For a change. "You okay?" He asks, echoing her earlier question.

She is quiet a little too long for his liking. He finds himself glancing in her direction, trying to read something in the way her eyes have moved to stare at her purple colored toes. "I think I am, Damon. Really. I mean…every now and then I wake up hard. You know…gasping for air and wondering where the hell I am. But those nights are getting few and farther in between." She turns her head and they share that look again. The one built from mutual experience. "It's starting to feel normal again."

He wonders how _normal_ normal will ever be. For her, in this house by herself while her friends are off taking classes in Creative Beadwork (or whatever fashion nonsense Caroline is enrolled in). And for him, trying desperately to slip back in that role of the bad boy Salvatore (he isn't sure he is succeeding).

"You know you can come to the Boarding House whenever —-"

"I know."

It is said in such a way that Damon feels like he has been chided for stating the obvious. Still, it comforts him to hear her say it. He can't help but move just a little closer to her (he can feel the power wafting off her now). She stays where she is (progress in the context of their relationship) and rests her chin in her hands. "Do you…do you dream about it?" She asks and her tone is hesitant, as if she is unsure if she should even be asking him.

Given that, he wastes no time in answering. "Yes." More often than he would like to say. He dreams of darkness, blinding light, the sound of her voice calling out for him in panic. He dreams of it all and then wakes thankful that he (_they_) made it back.

It must be what she needs to hear because her head comes to rest on his shoulder. It is only natural for his arm to go around her. They sit like that for a while (he's willing to do it all night). Then she shifts and he nearly protests. Instead he lets her go.

"It's late," she tells him as if she feels the need to defend her actions. Already she is standing and he follows suit. "And you need to stumble your way home."

"Don't worry about little ole' me. I know the way," he assures her.

She grins and he gives into an impulse that has him tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face turns and a cheek gets pressed to his palm. It has been chilled from the night air and his thumb swipes across her skin before his hand reluctantly falls away.

She is the one who moves closer this time.

Though he hasn't come there for the express purpose of doing anything other than checking up on her, he can't ignore this chance —- it might be fleeting after all. Therefore he acts swiftly. Before she can even see him coming, he brushes his lips across hers. Nothing more (he can't get greedy —- he knows her too well).

However, in quick moment he learns so much. How her lips feel under his. How her mouth opens slightly on its own accord. How she tastes. How her body presses to his every so subtly.

Amazing what one tiny (not so innocent) kiss can do.

She is blinking and looking at him as if she is wondering if that even just happened (oh yes, _it did_). He can't help but be just a tad bit smug —- he is Damon Salvatore after all.

"I…you know…" And she frowns because being tongued tied is not something unique to Bonnie Bennett. She blinks again and then gives up trying. Instead, she ventures closer to her door. "Goodnight, Damon."

He holds off on the grin (for now). "Goodnight, Bonnie."

He waits until she turns the lock and then steps off the front porch. That grin comes now as he wanders down the flagstone path toward the road. Somewhere he hopes Enzo senses a disturbance in the order of things but remains unknowing that he has lost the first kiss to Damon. He glances back at the house in time to see the porch light die. He congratulates himself on the unintended win.

Then stumbles home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Last summer I started a drabble series based mostly on prompts sent in by others. I had a lot of fun with them —- using the prompts to weave a storyline between the three characters. I always planned to continue it and low and behold I have a fifth installment. It's not based on any prompt bur rather something I wanted to see. Please keep in mind that when I started writing this I had to imagine what had happened to Bonnie and Damon after the finale. I left things vague and I continue to do so but you can see bits and pieces of what was done on the show weaving their way in. Also, this series remains untitled at the moment —- if you know a good title, let me know!

**Untitled**

_Prompt: Damon makes a confession as things spiral for someone he cares for._

She's got tears in her eyes.

He has never noticed them before.

Bonnie Bennett, crying for him.

Damon reaches out. His fingers brush hers but it is not enough. Before he can wrap them around her hand to pull her to him he is blinded by a white light; filled with the sensation of falling.

He wakes in his bed. Alone.

Damon takes a moment. He runs a hand over his face and draws in a deep breath. All the while he reminds himself: he is home, he is safe.

And so is she.

Maybe one day the nightmares will stop. Maybe one day the guilt that curls inside of him over what happened will finally let go. Maybe. For now, he'll push through just like has since the moment he found himself utterly alone in that crypt (alternatively cursing her and thanking her for what she had done).

He rises to find his brother downstairs, nursing a drink. "Bit early, don't you think, Stefan?" He quips but he too pours himself a healthy dose.

Stefan's quiet —- but then again Stefan's usually quiet so Damon doesn't prod. Instead he sits himself next to his brother and the two stare off into oblivion. Just like old times. He is bringing his glass to his lips when Stefan finally speaks.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asks.

Damon knows that this time Stefan won't be placated with some nondescript answer. This time, he wants more. Damon wonders if there is some sort of mystic karma at work —- this question right on the heels of his dream. He spins the glass in his hands. "I thought I was dead. I should be dead. For good. I was like a millisecond from being sucked into nothing. She saved me, Stefan. By taking my hand of all things." He remembers how it felt to have her tiny hand curled into his. She had squeezed, held on tight and he could feel the fear in that grip. If he could do it again (not that he wants to) —- he'd squeeze back, let her know that she was not alone (let her know she was not the only one scared). "It was witchy business that saved us. Her grandmother had done something to keep her safe. Put us in some fold of the universe. I was just the tag along."

He knows Stefan feels his guilt now. No matter what state the two are in —- they are keenly aware of how the other feels. "It wasn't all bad. I mean —- we fought. All the time. Oh God, how she got my nerves. And I couldn't get away from her. So I'd just push her buttons right back. Give her a smile as I did so. She'd get so frustrated with me and just storm off." He remembers it clearly —- how her face looks when she had reached her breaking point. Her eyes had lit up, her fists had curled to her sides. She had let out this sound —- a mix between a sigh and a growl (the first time he had heard it, he laughed and made things so much worse). Then she would stomp out (not walk, stomp) out of the Boarding House. "At first I prided myself on driving her off —- but then I realized something. All I had was her, Stefan. When she was gone, when I was alone, I hated it." He leans forward as he thinks of how many times he had sat in this exact position on this exact piece of furniture —- only his brother had not been there. He has a bitter taste in his mouth. "She came back. She always came back."

"Because all she had was you," Stefan reminds him.

Damon makes a face. He knows what his brother is getting at. He knows that Stefan is trying to make him realize that he is worth something too. He appreciates it. _But_. "I think she could have done it without me. I mean, she did do it without me. She didn't need me —- not like I needed her." It is an admission that he hasn't planned on making. Part of him wishes that he could take it back but it's out there now, hanging between them. It takes a moment to compose himself before he glances at Stefan. His brother is looking at him as if he is trying to take him apart to get to what makes him tick.

Great, in finally closing one chapter on all that had gone on, he has undoubtedly opened another.

Stefan will let it be for awhile. The depths of his feelings for Bonnie will be ignored for a few days, a week or two at most. Then one morning he will find Stefan just as he is now —- waiting for some answers with a drink in hand.

Damon seriously considers relocating.

He finishes his medicine and stands. If he is being truthful with himself (a rarity), he is secretly glad that Stefan knows what happened to him now. It gives him an open; a chance to speak to his brother when he is on the verge of being pulled down by it all. Not that he will take it —- but at least he knows it's there.

It's the thought that counts really.

His empty glass is discarded and there is a wise crack on the tip of his tongue. It never fully emerges. Instead both he and his brother whip their heads as the door to the Boarding House opens and five feet eight inches of blonde fury interrupts their heart to heart.

(perhaps one day when he is feeling generous he will send Caroline a thank you card)

Damon turns his entire body toward the newcomer, who has come to stop at the entrance to the great room. "I know I was dead and all —- but manners are still a thing right?" His tone is that playful sort of acidic that he reserves for only her. However, she doesn't budge. There is no narrowing off her eyes or huff of breath. Instead she stands there looking very much like a doe. He sobers up when he realizes that her attention is focused solely on him and not the brother that has come to stand behind him. "What?"

"It's Enzo."

**X**

Logically, he has known this moment was possible.

He just finds himself surprised it took this long.

Stefan and Caroline are on his heels as he approaches the bar. It's a dive, hardly something he would ever want to show his face in. He understands why Enzo picked it. It would be filled to the brim with drunken lowlifes and idiots that deserved whatever had been coming to them.

Caroline is still chattering away, explaining to Stefan that Enzo had unleashed hell the night before. Alcohol had been involved —- there is a body count. Damon's mouth is pressed into a thin line. He knows exactly where this has come from. No one, no matter how strong they are, can survive being used as a lab rat for decades. Not without some damage.

There is a moment where he is afraid to step inside (because it may shatter the illusion he has built —- Enzo is the strong one, Enzo is proof that you can pull yourself back on your feet after going through hell). He takes his insecurity out on the easiest target. "How the _hell_ do you know all of this any way, Caroline?"

He has to give her credit (silently): she doesn't cower. "Bonnie."

It takes him a moment but it sinks in. His eyes widen slightly and he doesn't hesitate now. He throws open the door to the bar. The stench of blood hits him and his first step crushes bits of glass under his feet. He counts three dead bodies and a hell of a lot of broken furniture. But no Enzo. No Bonnie.

"Calvary's here…" His voice isn't nearly as loud or as confident as he wants it to be.

Behind him he can hear the low murmurs between Stefan and the blonde one. They are discussing damage control but he wants no part of it. He moves forward, his eyes honed in for any movement. In the end, it's the sound of her heart that gives them away. It's slow, steady —- not at all erratic (as he has expected it to be). He manages to relax his shoulders as he follows it to behind the bar.

Enzo is slumped against the wall, a bottle of expensive whiskey tipped by his foot. Blood covers his mouth, his shirt. He is staring straight ahead. At Bonnie. He is staring at Bonnie. She is knelt in front of him, one hand on his leg, the other reaching forward so that her fingers can brush across his cheek. Damon almost lurches forward to prevent the action, fearful of how his battered friend will react. But Enzo doesn't even flinch. Instead his eyes flicker and then close.

Bonnie waits a moment and then she turns her head to look at Damon. "Help me get him up."

Damon blinks, wondering what brought her to this moment.

Then together they bring Enzo to his feet.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: It's back! And it has a name now. A lovely anonymous person visited my tumblr and suggested **_**Puzzle Pieces**_** because they "are all a bit broken" but "fit together". I really like that idea so viola - a name has finally been found. Thank you very much for supporting my little series of scenes. I love the feedback I have been given! Hopefully you'll enjoy this installment as well.**

Puzzle Pieces

_Prompt: He stopped because of her…_

They put Enzo in a room in the Boarding House.

Damon (_being Damon_) insists that he clean himself up first - a command that Enzo doesn't fight. Damon is the one to push his battered friend into the shower. For the sake of decorum, Bonnie waits outside in the hallway. He can hear her quiet voice talking to Stefan. Telling him how she had found Enzo amongst the carnage.

_Why the hell hadn't she called him first? Didn't she realize that she could have been in danger? That she could have been hurt?!_

He forces himself to calm down. Nothing happened. In fact, he knows he will eventually have to concede that she actually defused the situation (knowing that and doing so however will not come easy). He helps Enzo into borrowed clothes. His friend has said very little and that worries him. He thinks back to all those days in Augustine - how often had he nearly sunk so low that he gave up. Enzo had been the one to pull him back. With the situation reversed, Damon feels helpless really. "Welcome to Casa Salvatore," he finally says because the silence is too much. "You're our guest. For as long as you want. As long as you _need_."

Damon thinks he sees something flicker to life behind Enzo's eyes but he can't be sure. Instead Enzo moves from the bathroom into the bedroom. He sinks down on the edge of the bed, his shoulders slumping. When he speaks, it sounds as if his voice has rusted from disuse. "How many?"

Damon doesn't want to answer that. He takes a deep breath, prepared to prattle on about how numbers don't matter. Before he gets a chance, Enzo stops him with a look that pins him to the wall. "Ten." It slips out easily and he watches Enzo's face carefully. "It would have been eleven but Blondie gave him some of her blood, compelled him to forget the night and join A.A." Caroline - ever the Ms. Fix It. Enzo's hands clench together before he spreads them out on his legs. "No sarcasm. I swear that is what happened." He suspects that is not Enzo's problem. He thinks he knows his friend well enough - he is not all that shattered by the loss of ten alcoholics; he is bothered by the loss of control. He has spent a great deal of his life not in control of it - any hint that he is returning to that (albeit in a different way) will not sit well with him. "It was _one_ time. One time. And you stopped yourself from going any further."

"Because of her," he mutters so quietly that Damon only just catches it.

Damon stills against the wall. _Bonnie_. Enzo is crediting his control to Bonnie. Despite knowing he should be thankful to that, it doesn't sit well in the pit of his stomach. He moves slowly to sit next to Enzo on the bed. He should offer comfort but instead he wants to probe how deep this connection is for Enzo. Maybe he can do both at once. Maybe he can multitask. "What the _hell_ happened?"

Enzo remains silent for a beat too long and Damon thinks he is getting a taste of his own medicine - no wonder Stefan had stopped just short of sitting on him until Damon gave up answers to his questions. He contemplates doing the same to Enzo. Silly, _childish _but this is Bonnie they are talking about (in a roundabout way). He finds that he even has inched closer to Enzo unconsciously. Thankfully, Enzo proves to be less tight lipped than him. "I wanted a drink. I was _bored_. I started at the Grill. That Donovan kid was there, looking at me like I was the scum on his shoes. Normally that wouldn't bother me but _tonight..._I just wanted to rip his throat out, Damon."

"You wouldn't be the first to think that," Damon mutters but falls silent when Enzo pins him with another look.

"He doesn't even know me. _Not really_. He only sees one thing: **vampire**," Enzo continues. "I almost gave in. I almost proved his fear, his loathing right. I left. But…"

"You couldn't just leave it," Damon finishes. He understands now.

"I spent so many years locked up, prodded at, _cut open_. All because of what I am. I never chose to be this. I never _asked_ for this," Enzo says and his voice cracks. Then he presses his lips together so tightly that they turn white. Damon watches as he lays his hands flat on his legs and then curls his fingers in. A moment later he flexes them out and then repeats the process. He is staring straight ahead as he speaks again. "I thought...if that is all they see then why not embrace it? Wasn't hard to find that hole in the wall. Wasn't hard to bite into the first man's neck. He practically staggered into my arms…" His eyes flutter closed and Damon knows he is reliving the moment. "Then the next…"

"Whoa, _whoa_," Damon says. "Let's not turn this into a vampire's wet dream okay?" Enzo gives him a look, but they both know that Damon did the right thing in cutting him off before he got caught up in the memory. The last thing they need is Enzo slipping back into that mind frame. "The important thing to remember is that you stopped. People lived. You didn't hurt _her._"

Enzo's fingers tighten yet again.

It slips out, perhaps it has always been on the tip off his tongue (_a silent prayer of thanks_). Or perhaps he knows that at the heart of it, Enzo needs to be reminded that he didn't lay a finger against someone who means something to him. He had stopped himself. He had been in control.

"I _wanted _to," Enzo admits quietly. Damon's eyes narrow dangerously but Enzo does not see it. "For a split second when I first saw her standing there, I wanted to. Then I heard her voice and everything - all the rage, the bloodlust...it just faded."

Damon supposes he shouldn't be angry with Enzo for his admittance. Shouldn't - but _is_. The feeling is not visible on the surface. Instead it lurks and he will find a way to let it go. Enzo had been acting on instinct. He had lost touch with the human part of him. It doesn't just snap back into place that easily. In fact, he is surprised that Enzo had been able to pull back that quickly (maybe that is what he is really angry about - these intertwining emotions are hard to wrap his head around).

"Look, I meant what I said, Enzo. Stay here as long as you want. We've got enough room. There is a freezer full of blood bags in the basement. Booze galore. I can't do anything about Stefan and his broody face but other than that, it's paradise for a vampire." He claps a hand on his friend's back, tries to smile brightly but settles for a simple upturning of his lips. "You need this. You've been through a hell of a lot. _A hell of a lot_ \- and you are still working through that. I promise, I _swear_ I won't get mushy on you. Unless you want me to. Til then, I'll leave you be. I am sure you don't want me to keep running my mouth."

"You've said enough," Enzo agrees. He waits until Damon has a hand on the door before he speaks again. "But I am grateful to hear it. Thank you, Damon. Tell her the same please."

"Sure thing."

**X**

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

Not quite the first words he had envisioned speaking.

Bonnie is standing in front of the fire. Stefan has been smart enough to press a glass of bourbon into her hand. She turns, her eyes already narrowed. _Good job, Salvatore_, he thinks and then gives himself a mental pat on the back to boot. "Excuse me?"

He has to push forward now. He has already lit the fire. Experience says they have to let it burn to its logical end. "You know what I mean - walking in there when Enzo was all fang happy. He could have _attacked_ you."

"He didn't."

"He could have."

"_He didn't_," she repeats and he gets the feeling from the grit in her voice that that part of the discussion is not up for debate.

"Dammit, Bonnie, you shouldn't just wander into the middle of carnage," Damon says. If they aren't going to argue over Enzo's intentions towards her then he'll flip the script back on her. "Enzo's not exactly stable right now."

"Since when have I made a point to hang around stable vampires?" Bonnie asks, and her chin tilts.

"Ouch," Stefan comments from the couch. Damon casts his brother a withering glance but Stefan doesn't budge.

"You know what I mean." Damon is looking at her again. Really looking at her to assure himself that there is not a scratch on her. She looks as she always does when she is angry at him: eyes blazing and there is a hum about her, as if her power is simmering just below the surface. He would be smart to walk carefully to ensure he doesn't end up drooling on the floor. "B_onnie_…" His tone softens and he sighs. "I just...you could have been hurt. He wouldn't have meant if it had happened. I know that. I know you know that. He's just trying to put the pieces back in the right place since breaking free of that hell hole."

Bonnie nods and her bottom lip disappears into her mouth. "He's not the only one, Damon."

He almost wishes she had lashed out with magic instead. This hurts much deeper. He is left standing there with his mouth slightly agape while she finishes off the bourbon. The glass is set on the nearest coaster (he is too jumbled up to thank her for that). By the time he has worked through the implications of her admission, she is standing in front of him. "I am not going to apologize for going to him. I am not going to apologize for doing the right thing. I knew the risk." Slowly she places a hand on his chest. He can feel the heat from her palm and it spreads through him. "I'm _okay_, Damon." Only now he knows she isn't. Not all the way okay. "Tell Enzo I'll be by to visit. I need some sleep. See you soon?"

"Yeah," he manages and then watches her go. He closes his eyes but is well aware his brother has come to stand behind him. "Not a word out of you."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Stefan retorts.

"L_iar_." Instead of waiting around for Stefan to say it anyway, Damon grabs the entire bottle of bourbon and disappears into the library to read a little.

(who is he kidding he is going to take a page out of his brother's book and brood)


End file.
